Appliance Repair Wisdom for the Ages

Sunday, September 01, 2002

Look, I make no pretenses about being a neutral or unbiased voice in the home appliance world--I'll tell you right now, Grasshopper: I ain't. Nawsir, I am one cranky and opinionated cracker. But get me talking about GE appliances, and I turn into one pissed-off cracker. Why? Because despite horrendous quality problems and outrageous markups on replacement parts, people still buy GE appliances and so the freak show continues.

If you recently bought a GE fridge equipped with an icemaker, it probably has the new GE IM6 icemaker. If it's like other GE appliances, it won't be long before something goes horribly wrong with it. Probably the day after your warranty expires. So go ahead and bookmark this entry now, Grasshopper, 'cause you're gonna need it. Guaranteed. Ok, let's light this candle.

The most common problem that you, the unsuspecting GE owner, will run into with this contraption is when it inexplicably goes into fault mode. This icemaker has a green LED on the right hand side, below the power-on rocker switch, shown here. When that LED starts flashing at the rate of ½ second on, ½ second off, welcome to fault mode, compadre. The main reasons this icemaker goes into fault mode are:

• stuck ejector--maybe a cube didn't clear during harvest or the ejector has a mechanical problem;
• no heat in the ice mold--could be an open heater, fried control board, or burnt out motor;
• motor not turning--this is gonna be either a burnt out motor or a fried control board;
• motor home position not operating--caused by a fried control board or loose magnet (the result will be continuous ejector operation);
• thermistor either open or shorted--we'll talk more about how to check this.

More diagnostic info on the IM6, including how to initiate the harvest cycle, here.

The thermistor is one busy dude in this icemaker. It's contantly sensing the temperature of the ice mold and controls just about everything, from the mold heater to the ice harvest. It will fail either electrically open or shorted. Either way, you're screwed...unless you know how to check it. Would you like to know? Ok, I'll tell you. First, locate the thermistor on the icemaker and pull that sucker right out of the printed circuit board. Now, clip your ohm meter leads to the thermistor terminals and check the resistance according to this temperature-resistance chart. If your thermistor tests bad, come git you a new one!

If the thermistor is good but the icemaker still doesn't work right, then you have to replace the whole icemaker. Sorry, Slick, but that's GE for ya.

So, let's say you wanted to replaced your GE icemaker with a good ol' Whirlpool icemaker. How would you wire it into your fridge? Why, using the schematic diagram for the IM6, of course!

By the way, if you'd like to call GE to tell them what a big fan you are, their number is 1-800-626-2000. Go git 'em!

2 Comments:

What stops ice making when the bucket is full on the IM6 icemaker?
Mine overfills and jams the dispenser. I actually have a Model CAN13 (WR30X1012) but it looks just like the IM6 and has the LED (which is not lit).

By  whiteshoe, at April 09, 2008 3:13 PM  

From reading it appears thou art an ex-squid.

I wonder if it is as difficult explaining appliance repair to the unwashed masses as it is trying to explain life aboard a warship.

That is a rhetorical question so I omitted the mark of a question at the end and substituted a lowly mundane period for the fancier question mark.

Not that I have an aversion to question marks but why do all that extra work to make a non-question into a question grammatically if it can be avoided?

I, and assuredly many udders, appreciate your efforts in creating and maintaining this little portion of the Web.

I recently bought a BRAND NEW Frigidaire refrigerator, the first new major appliance I have bought.

Murphy's Law required that in the first two months of ownership that I received around one week of usage with two separate warranty-covered repairs.

The second repair appears to have worked but.... it required retrofitting and rebuilding the unit.

My fridge is now unique, likely unlike any other of that model since the repair, as the repairer was instructed to by the manufacturer, required drilling a NEW hole in the outer case so that new lines could be routed out the new hole, out the back externally then down to the whatever at the bottom of the unit.

I demanded a replacement but... nope.

Using the court system is not always practical. One has to weight the cost/benefit equation with several factors to consider.

In this case grudgingly allowing the repair was the most cost-effective option for me but...

I now wish I had bought a Whirlpool vice a Frigidaire/Electrolux appliance.

Live and learn.

By  Obbop, at October 09, 2009 4:24 PM  

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